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The Googlization Of Everything: (And Why We Should Worry) (2010)

by Siva Vaidhyanathan(Favorite Author)

3.5 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0520258827 (ISBN13: 9780520258822)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

University of California Press

review 1: Vaidhyanathan is an astute critic of what he deems "techno-fundamentalism" and a champion of civil society and a meaningful global public culture. He is by no means out to destroy Google, and in fact is quite an admirer of what the company has accomplished. He just wants us to remember that it IS a company, and its duty is to make profits, not to be a force for good in the world. This book does a commendable job of laying out where to look for the biases and assumptions that underlie Google's accomplishments and points out ethical conflicts and hypocrisies where he sees them, touching particularly on Google's positions on net neutrality, surveillance and privacy issues in China, and the copyright quandaries of Google Books. Along the way, we get some memorable snippets of ... moreVaidhyanathan's public service philosophy, such as, “Because we have failed at politics, we now rely on marketing to make our world better. That reliance is the height of collective civic irresponsibility. It’s a meaningless pose.” All said, well worth reading, although the work probably could have been done in a 50-page essay rather than a 200-page book.
review 2: I found this to be a mediocre academic non-fiction book describing google and 'search', their place in contemporary society, and a call for a public competitor (similar to a library v. bookstore). My particular edition contained some typos. I found some sections more interesting than others. I particularly liked the contrast between fair-use standards for web sites and physical books. I also enjoyed the nuts and bolts discussion of how google and their search engine actually works. less

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